August 20, 2025

#823: Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg — Creating Supranormal Vision, Cutting-Edge Science for Eye Health, Supplements, Red Light Therapy, and The Future of Eyesight Restoration

1 hour 44 minutes

Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg is Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology and Director of the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University, a leading scientist in the development and degeneration of the visual system from eye to brain, and a practicing ophthalmologist and surgeon.

This episode is brought to you by:

Gamma AI design partner for effortless presentations, websites, social media posts, and more: https://gamma.app (Use code TIM at checkout for 30% off any plan.)

Helix Sleep premium mattresses: https://HelixSleep.com/Tim (27% off on all mattress orders.)

AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D plus 5 free AG1 travel packs with your first subscription purchase.)

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Start.

[00:05:30] How do you solve a problem like presbyopia?

[00:08:34] The athletic benefits of training supranormal (better than 20/20) vision.

[00:11:49] Indigenous eye drops and FDA-approved pilocarpine for presbyopia.

[00:14:05] Understanding basic eye anatomy.

[00:17:27] Exploring AREDS 2, CoQ10, ginkgo, vitamin B3, and other supplements for vision.

[00:23:00] Visual training devices and psychedelic-prompted brain plasticity.

[00:25:12] Thoughts on visual training effectiveness and motor action requirements.

[00:28:29] Concussion rehabilitation and visual perception exercises.

[00:32:36] Red light and violet light therapy for myopia and mitochondrial health.

[00:36:07] Vision loss correlation with cognitive decline and depression.

[00:39:36] Presbyopia progression and psychological dependence on readers.

[00:41:15] Cognito Therapeutics headset for Alzheimer's treatment.

[00:46:46] Glaucoma basics: neurodegenerative disease and risk factors.

[00:48:53] Eye pressure variability and diurnal cycles.

[00:50:02] Cannabis effects on eye pressure and compound isolation.

[00:51:47] Stem cell research for vision restoration.

[00:53:09] Anti-inflammatory effects and immune system role in eye diseases.

[00:55:15] Gut microbiome connection to glaucoma in animal models.

[00:58:43] Metabolic syndrome and GLP-1 receptor agonists.

[01:00:50] Microbiome sharing and future therapeutic possibilities.

[01:03:31] Dry eye treatment: preservative-free tears and serum drops.

[01:08:43] Vision screening recommendations and UV protection.

[01:11:22] Full-spectrum light benefits vs. UV exposure.

[01:13:27] Paradigm shifts: irreversible vision loss becoming reversible.

[01:17:18] Convergence of neuroscience advances and biotech investment.

[01:21:58] Miraculous mitochondria: health, transplants, and three-parent babies.

[01:26:24] My family history concerns and metabolic health screening.

[01:29:26] Exercise's biggest gain: going from none to some.

[01:33:03] Clinical trial participation resources and parting thoughts.

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

...more

View all episodes

By Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig

4.6

1573215,732 ratings